Leaving Your Rabbit Alone: How long and 10 tips.

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As a pet rabbit owner, deciding to leave your bunny alone for a day, a weekend, or for a long vacation is a big decision. I’ve owned pet bunnies for years, and our bunnies have be left alone many times. In this article, we’ll explore how long your rabbit can be left alone and what you can do to make that alone time easier for your rabbit and you.

Let’s start with the basics and work towards my 10 tips for leaving your rabbit alone for an extended period of time.

Rabbits can be left alone for two to four days. Rabbits are social creatures and as such, they thrive when they have company. On the other hand, they don’t eat a lot and they don’t need to be walked. With enough food and water, your rabbit can easily be alone for up to 4 days.

However, other factors could shorten or extend that period.

Rabbits Left Alone During The Day

Rabbits can easily be left alone during the day for 6 to 10 hours while you’re at work or playing. Rabbits thrive with companionship, but regular days alone won’t cause them any harm. They’ll just be ready for some out-of-cage playtime when you get home.

To prepare your rabbit for regular workdays alone, make sure that you adjust their feeding schedule so that they are accustomed to getting their pellets and salad (dark leafy greens) in the evening.

During the day, your rabbit will have unlimited access to quality hay and clean water.

When you get home, you’ll give your bunny their salad (as recommended by our veterinarian nurse friend) during your bonding and playtime. These fresh dark greens are such a treat that they will give you some great bonding time to help build your relationship with your pet bunny.

Then closer to bedtime you’ll give your rabbit their small portion of rabbit pellets.

With a good reliable schedule, pet rabbits can thrive with you being gone during the day.

Rabbits Left Alone For The Weekend

Rabbits can easily be left alone for the weekend. You just need to make sure that they have enough well-contained food and water to remain clean and last for the entire weekend. You should also make sure that your pet bunny has access to a number of rabbit toys to help them avoid getting bored.

A few days in their rabbit cage or hutch is really no big deal for a rabbit as long as it’s large enough that they have room to play and has the essentials in the cage.

Those rabbit cage essentials include a hay manger, a large waterer, a bunny litter box, and varieties of rabbit toys to keep them occupied.

Rabbits Left Alone For a Week or More?

If your planning a big vacation, you’re probably wondering what to do with your pet bunny during the vacation.

Pet rabbits should not be left alone for a week or more. This is because they are social creatures who would be very lonely, it would be very difficult to leave enough food and water without the rabbit binging and consuming it all before you return home, and the rabbit cage would be a mess.

Rabbits can be given huge piles of hay to easily last them for a week or more. You can give them extra hay in their hay manger and in the bedding which they don’t at all mind eating.

However, it’s very difficult to provide your bunny enough water to safely last that long. If a rabbit runs out of water for more than two to three days, they will die.

10 Tips For Leaving Your Rabbit Alone For Extended Periods

1. Get A Rabbit Sitter

You need someone to visit your rabbit at least every third day. During these visits your bunny sitter is going to take care of your rabbits needs including socializing time. These tasks include:

• Fresh Hay & Pellets
• Fresh Water
• Rabbit Litter Box Cleaning
• General Rabbit Cage Cleaning
• Swapping Out Rabbit Toys
• Bunny Play Time

2. Introduce The Rabbit Sitter In Advance

Introducing new people to your rabbit sometimes causes stress and fear for your bunny. Your bunny needs a chance to get to know their bunny sitter before you leave for vacation.

Likewise, your rabbit sitter needs an opportunity to get to know your bunny and their needs.

I recommend that you have you pet sitter visit at least twice before you leave your rabbit for an extended period of time. More visits would be better. Just make sure that play time is part of each visit.

3. Consider A Larger Hay Feeder

No matter how good your rabbit sitter is, they are not going to take care of your rabbit as well as you do when you’re home. They might even be a day late in making it over to your house.

You don’t want your bunny to run out of hay, so it might be worth considering a larger hay feeder.

Here is a link to larger hay feeder available on Amazon.

4. Consider A Larger Rabbit Water

Water is even more important that hay for your bunny’s healthy. If your bunny were to be without water for more than 24 hours, you are risking the health of your bunny.

Do not risk your rabbit running out of water.

If you normally water your bunny in a small water bowl, that’s simply not going to work while you are away on vacation. At the very least, you need to replace that bowl with a larger bowl, or perhaps two larger bowls in case on gets accidently dumped out while you are gone.

You might want to consider a rabbit water bottle that attaches to the outside of your bunny’s cage so it can’t be spilled. Here is a link to one on Amazon.

5. Consider A Large Litter Box

If your rabbit litter box gets to messy, it is very likely that your bunny will quit using it. This is going to make a huge mess for your rabbit sitter to clean up…or for you to cleanup when you get home.

Sadly, you might also have a long-term impact in your home if your bunny has got in the habit of not using the litter box by the time you get home.

A larger litter box will take longer to get too messy for your rabbit to use it. It might be worth the investment before you leave.

6. Get A Variety Of Rabbit Toys

Before you leave your rabbit alone while you go on vacation, you owe it to her to keep her from getting bored. To this end, we recommend having your bunny sitter swap out rabbit toys each time they visit.

Your rabbit will be stimulated by new toys every few days.

You don’t have to buy every rabbit toy; there are some great free ones you can find around your house. Here is an article we wrote rabbit toys, and I have a curated list of great rabbit toys one Etsy.

7. Introduce New Rabbit Equipment Early

Make sure that introduce any new rabbit equipment to your rabbit days if not weeks before you leave for vacation. You want to give your bunny time to get used to the new feeders, waterers, litter box, etc when they are not also trying to get used to you being gone.

8. Have Lights On A Timer

Give your bunny a since of some normalcy by having lights on timers. Ideally, you’ll have the lights go off at your normal bedtime so your rabbit’s sleep patterns are affected to much.

As an added benefit, the lights will make your home seem occupied and your rabbit sitter won’t be walking into a dark unfamiliar house.

9. Consider Music Or Videos On A Timer

Introduce some variety for your rabbit by having music or videos on timers or that you can activate remotely.

10. Consider Investing In A Remote Monitor

You can get affordable IP Video Camera’s that you’ll be able to access from your phone during your vacation. If you are a worrying bunny mama, this video feed could be the peace of mind that you need to be able to really enjoy your vacation.

You can even get a camera that has two way audio so your bunny can hear a familiar voice from time to time.

You can get one affordable here on Amazon.

I hope you found what you needed in this article. I hope you can enjoy your vacation knowing that your rabbit is safe at home.

Your Rabbit Friend,

~Stacey